Saturday, June 05, 2010
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An Amsterdam court has decided to extradite 10 suspected Somali pirates to Germany to face trial on the charge of hijacking a German ship miles off the Somali coast. Dutch marines arrested the pirates off the coast of Somalia two months ago during an exchange of fire.
"The court assumes that Germany has jurisdiction over the offence," the court said in a statement on Friday.
The suspects' defense lawyers have argued against the decision, saying the suspects should be tried in the Netherlands.
They rejected the claim that the attacked ship had been registered in Germany.
"If we can prove that we don't know under which flag the ship was sailing, if we can prove that there is no documentation verifying the owner of the ship, why does the court now say so easily, it's enough, you have to go to Germany?" lawyer Michael Balemans told Reuters.
The coast off essentially lawless Somalia has become a piracy hub, as hijackers demand payment for the release of ships. The pirates have collected tens of millions of dollars in ransom.
Source: PressTV